The History....

    In 1893, Worcester Reed Warner and Ambrose Swasey, owners of the Cleveland-based company Warner & Swasey, built an observatory in their backyard between their two homes. This observatory housed a 9-1/2 inch telescope which the Cleveland natives would later place in the new observatory on 1975 Taylor Road in East Cleveland.
    Prior to 1920, all activities in astronomy were concentrated on the Case campus. Observational facilities were practically non-existent.
    In 1919, Warner and Swasey, Cleveland's leading manufacturer in machine tools and precision instruments, as well as the telescopes for the reknown Lick and Yerkes observatories, asked Walker and Weeks to plan the astronomical observatory for the Case School of Applied Sciences on an elevated site in East Cleveland.
    The Warner and Swasey Observatory was presented to Case by Worcester R. Warner and Ambrose Swasey in a dedication ceremony October 12, 1920.
    The new observatory was built in two stages: The original wing at the south end of the structure consisted of a dome supported on a cylindrical brick tower. The dome was an old one that had been used for 25 years on the property at Worcester Warner's and Ambrose Swasey's residences on Euclid Ave.
     In 1940 and 1941, the observatory was expanded to include offices, an auditorium, dark rooms, and a library. A 24-36 inch Schmidt telescope was built and installed by the Warner and Swasey Company.
     President Howe, in his speech of acceptance, expresed the thanks of the trustees and assured the donors that the gift would always be a symbol of their regard and devotion towards this school.
     Student interest in astonomy increased substantially from 1957-1958 because of the Sputnik era. So in 1960 an undergraduate major leading to a Bachelor of Science degree was authorized by the faculty.
     The Cleveland Museum of Natural History continues the tradition of Public Nights started at the Warner and Swasey Observatory.
     In 1957, the sky in Cleveland became too bright for the use of the Schmidt telescope. So a station 35 miles east, near Chardon, was established and the Schmidt telescope was moved there. The Nassau Astronomical Station thus came into existence.
     A 36 inch Cassegrain reflector, spectrograph, and other auxillary equipment were installed in the dome of the Warner and Swasey Observatory.
     In the fall of 1982, the staff, library, and other facilities of the Astronomy Department of Case Western Reserve University, which had been housed in the Warner and Swasey Observatory building on Taylor Road in East Cleveland, were moved to the 4th floor of the Smith building on the Case campus.
     In 1983, the observatory was sold to the now defunct cable operator, T.B.A.However, the term Warner and Swasey Observatory continues to serve to identify the Case Department of Astronomy and perpetuate the memory of those far-sighted individuals who were so instrumental in the development of observational astronomy in the United States.
     Today the Warner and Swasey Observatory, located on Taylor Road, is owned by a private partnership run by two individuals. The T.B.A. company which operated out of the complex since 1981, filed for bankrupcy in the late 1990s and was split into three portions. East Cleveland Cable purchased the cable division, and a private investor purchased the other two parts of T.B.A. in which he obtained the 1975 Taylor Road Company.
     When asked what the observatory is used for, the owner commented that the property is now a multi-use office building. When asked about the large amounts of trash on the premises, the owner stated that the city of East Cleveland will not respond to requests to stop the dumping of trash upon the premises, and that the owner makes weekly ventures to the property at which time he removes trash.
     In his presentation address for the Observatory in 1920, Ambrose Swasey said "this building, because of its admirable design and construction, tells its own story for the purpose for which it was erected. And to Messrs Walker and Weeks, the architects, and to Messrs Crowell and Little, the builders, too much credit cannot be given."
     The property, which was designed by reknown Cleveland architects Walker and Weeks, and which was constructed in 1920, is not on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Current conditions suggest the owner may not be interested in preserving the property.